


Picket Fence

by RetroactiveCon



Series: Four Times Trouble [13]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:40:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26309470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: “This could house whole families,” Leo whispers in awe. He takes in the smallish but impeccably trimmed lawn and the array of flower bushes and asks, “This could really be ours?”“Let’s see the inside before we make that decision,” Ray cautions. He intertwines his fingers with Leo’s and brings their intertwined hands to his lips. More quietly, with a conspiratorial look that makes Barry think this is just for Leo, he asks, “It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”Staring up at the exterior—light blue paint, white trim, tiny second-story balcony with a cute but sturdy railing—Barry can’t help feeling like it’s already theirs.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Earth-X Leonard "Leo" Snart/Ray Terrill
Series: Four Times Trouble [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706920
Comments: 15
Kudos: 35





	1. Open House

"This is the place you had in mind for us?”

Len has finally, after weeks of talking about it, dragged them out to an open house. Barry knew a little bit about the house he had in mind, but before this moment, he’d never seen it. Somehow, he thought it would be smaller. 

“I figured we need the space.” Len looks up at the house, a small smile on his lips. He’s so happy that Barry can’t argue, even though they make the apartment work so well that he can’t imagine what they’ll do with such a massive two-story. 

“This could fit whole families,” Leo whispers in awe. He takes in the smallish but impeccably trimmed lawn and the array of flower bushes and asks, “This could really be ours?”

“Let’s see the inside before we make that decision,” Ray cautions. He intertwines his fingers with Leo’s and brings their clasped hands to his lips. More quietly, with a conspiratorial look and soft voice that seem to be just for Leo, he asks, “It’s magnificent, isn’t it?”

Staring up at the exterior—light blue paint, white trim, tiny second-story balcony with a cute but sturdy railing—Barry can’t help feeling like it’s already theirs. 

In retrospect, he should have expected the inside of a house this large to break Leo’s brain. Still, when they walk through the door into the little entry hall and catch a glimpse of the massive, completely bare room to the left—probably a living room, Barry suspects—Leo’s sudden “It’s so big!” catches him off-guard. 

“There are four of us,” Len reminds him. There’s a weird look on his face that Barry would swear (albeit not to Len) is fondness. He follows Leo into the living room, wraps his arms low and tight around his waist, and squeezes him. Barry hasn’t seen him give Leo stim like this before, although he’s seen Ray do something similar. “We’re going to need the space.”

The real estate agent, a dark-haired woman with a narrow, friendly face, grins at them and confides to Len, “Have you seen the master bathtub? It’s plenty big enough for four.”

Len recoils. Barry almost does the same. He’s not used to people clocking them as one big messy relationship; they tend to see Len and Leo and think twins out with friends. 

“Oh, don’t worry.” She smiles. “That was what clinched my and my partners’ apartment for us—a tub fit for three. I know the importance.” With one more nod toward the upstairs, clearly urging them to check it out, she stands aside. “Look around. I think you’ll find it suitable.”

The four of them stick close together as they look around. The rooms aren’t furnished, and the open space seems to hit Leo harder than the rest of them. Each new room they enter, he stands in the very center and turns an awed circle, his eyes lit up in pure joy. 

“I want this to be our home,” he blurts before they’ve even set foot upstairs. “It’s perfect for us. There’s so much space!”

“Let’s make sure we like what we’re getting,” Len says, but he’s still got that openly fond look from earlier. As Leo and Ray precede them up the stairs, he presses close to Barry and admits, “I’ve already made an offer.”

Barry swats him. “No! You’re serious?” When there’s a flicker of worry behind Len’s eyes, he gasps, “Oh, you _are_ serious. Were you that sure we’d all like it?”

Len nods and smiles up at Leo and Ray, who’ve just stepped onto the second floor and are making little delighted noises. “I had a feeling all of us would think it was perfect. She was right when she said the tub was convincing.”

The second floor is as spacious as the first. The doors are all open—an office at the top of the stairs, two smaller bedrooms that share a hall bathroom and, at the end of the hallway, the master bedroom. Leo and Ray are already in the master bedroom, exclaiming over each new discovery. 

When Barry steps into the room, he can’t help a smile. This is the room that opens onto the little balcony, which would be useful—they could put out a chair or two for post-nightmare searches for fresh air, and it would be far more comfortable than the fire escape that’s their current hideaway after a nightmare. There’s a walk-in closet and plenty of space for wardrobes—this would be the first time they could each have sufficient space for their clothes. The master bathroom boasts a tub that is, to Barry’s astonishment, plenty big enough for four.

“Okay,” he says with a laugh, “I see why you thought this would be perfect for us.”

Leo, who’s out on the balcony, whoops with delight. “This is _wonderful_!” he bursts out, poking his head back inside. He’s positively radiant, and Barry can’t help running across the room to give him a kiss. “Oh, this could really be ours?”

Barry glances at Len, who suddenly finds something of great interest to look at on the ceiling. Only when he’s not at immediate risk of seeing their reactions does he confess, “I…may have already made an offer.”

There’s no scolding about going behind their backs. Leo does a little happy bounce. “And?”

“And nothing, I’ll hear back soon.” Len drops his eyes from the ceiling to steal a glance at the three of them. Whatever he sees makes him smile, small and shy. “And maybe I’m as excited as all of you.”

“Can we get a bigger bed?” Barry asks hopefully. It’s been his secret wish for a long time. He loves them all, but cramming four of them into the bed in their current apartment—especially with Ray’s ever-present blanket pile to contend with—is too much sometimes. 

Ray’s eyes widen, perhaps thinking of furniture prices. Barry refrains from giggling. Ray and Leo know in abstract terms that Len spent most of his life pulling ridiculous heists, but neither of them seems to have realized that this means they’re well-provided-for. “I think we can make do, don’t you?”

Len doesn’t hide his mirth as well as Barry. “No, we can afford a bigger bed.”

Leo leads them back out of the master bedroom and starts gesturing at the other two bedrooms. “We can have our playroom here, and that office there, by the stairs? I thought maybe that could be a retreat.”

“A retreat?” Barry asks curiously. He’s not entirely sure what Leo means, but given the four of them and how often they need to withdraw, a designated retreat room sounds nice.

“Like, we can put up blackout curtains and have it as a place to go when our heads get to be too much—flashbacks or your overstim thing, Barry.” Leo looks so excited by the prospect that Barry is excited for him. “We can put stuff in there to help us get our heads back in order when things get to be too much.”

Barry imagines it—a room with blackout curtains, a CD player and a white noise maker, some ear defenders, puzzles and other things to do to calm down, and a variety of soft things. “Oh, that would be perfect,” he murmurs. 

Leo turns another joyous circle. “This could be ours soon!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Ray cautions, but Barry sees the softness in his eyes. He wants this, and more than that, he’s delighted to see Leo so happy. 

Within a week, to their great delight, the house is theirs.


	2. Moving In

Moving is less of a task than they expect, mostly because two Ciscos show up with the offer to breach over their furniture. “Hire a moving van?” Cisco scoffs when he hears of the dilemma. “You have Vibe and…dude, do you not have a cool nickname?”

Cisco-X, who’s been staring at their tiny apartment as though it’s one of the most impressive things he’s ever seen, jumps. “Oh! I’m Resonance.”

Cisco considers that with his head cocked. “It’s cool,” he admits, “but it’s not snappy. Though, given that you were going up against Overgirl and your fellow resistance member here is The Ray, I guess clever nicknames were in kinda low supply.”

Ray crosses his arms and pretends he’s not smiling. “Are the two of you here to help us move or just chat?”

“Don’t see why we can’t do both,” Cisco-X points out, hefting a box full of kitchen supplies. 

“He’s right, I’m just here for the post-moving pizza.” Cisco ties his hair back in a sloppy ponytail. Barry, who’s keenly aware that he has three boyfriends, nonetheless feels his poor heart stutter at how attractive Cisco looks like that. “There will be pizza, right?”

“I thought we’d get sandwiches from that cute little deli,” Leo says hopefully, glancing at Len. 

With an almost entirely feigned sigh, Len agrees, “All right, we can get sandwiches, but be aware Barry will eat about twenty.”

“Thirteen, if I don’t use my speed.” He picks up a box of books and steps toward Cisco. “Once more unto the breach?”

“I hate you,” Cisco says cheerfully, opening a breach into their new house. 

Even with the breaches, it takes plenty of time and energy to move everything into their new home. The furniture is worst. Barry is grateful they’re leaving some of it; Len managed to find an enormous new bed for their equally enormous new bedroom, so the Rogues are stopping by later to pick up the old one. 

Moving the furniture in the playroom is a challenge of a different kind, because Cisco refuses to look inside (an arrangement all of them are happy with). Instead, he averts and covers his eyes, sticks his arm into the room, and opens a breach without looking. Barry half-expects this to end them up in Wells the Grey’s cave or some equally improbable place, but it works out just fine. 

When the last of the furniture—Ray’s beloved armchair—has been moved into place, the six of them step through a breach into the new house. Cisco-X promptly flops down onto the sofa, his shirt riding up and exposing a little of his belly. “I haven’t made that many breaches in such a short time in…oh, almost two years.”

“I remember that,” Leo says softly. Rather than linger on the memory, he brightens and turns a pleading stare on Len. “Sandwiches?”

“Oh, all right.” Len sighs and pushes himself to his feet. “It’s close enough that we can walk—walk, not run, Barry,” he adds sternly. Barry, who’d been halfway out of his seat, drops back onto the cushion obediently. If Len wants him to stay put, he’ll stay. 

While Len and Leo go out for sandwiches, Ray and the Ciscos keep Barry company. “Are you sure they can be trusted alone?” Cisco-X ventures, glancing toward the door once Len and Leo are gone.

“No,” Ray admits, “I’m really not, but I like to think they’re getting…somewhere.” He glances at Barry as he says this. Barry understands why—of all of them, he’s the only one who can read Len’s moods semi-accurately. 

“They’re getting somewhere,” he agrees. “Len wants to like Leo, he’s just…”

“A lot?” Cisco ventures. He’s still vaguely bristly around Leo because of an incident, very early on, where Leo mentioned his deadname. He’d clarified afterward that Cisco-X occasionally used it in public and has since respected Cisco’s preferences on the matter, but Cisco remains wary. 

“You could say that,” Barry agrees. “I think they just don’t get each other very much yet. I mean, you saw what they did when Len tried to open up to Leo in a…” He thinks about it. “…a very Len way that Leo didn’t click with.”

Cisco-X snuggles up to Cisco and murmurs, “I’m so happy we click.” Cisco squeezes him and gives him a kiss on the cheek. They look so cute like that, all snuggled up. Fleetingly, Barry wonders what it would take to get Len and Leo so comfortable with each other. 

Len and Leo return with the promised sandwiches and a bag that, when Ray asks, Leo calls an impulse buy. Barry is curious, but he knows better than to ask about surprises before Len is willing to share them. Instead, he throws the bag longing looks while they eat, eager to assuage his curiosity. 

After the sandwiches have been demolished, the two Ciscos stand up from the table. “This was certainly a day,” Cisco proclaims, “but we ought to leave you in peace to reveal the contents of that ominous bag.”

Cisco-X circles the table, embracing Leo and Ray, shying away from Len, and giving Barry a quick, bashful hug. “I enjoyed getting to spend time with all of you,” he says. When he pulls away from Barry, he gives a little happy rock that makes Barry and Cisco instantly join in. “I wanna come back sometime, once you’re a little more established here.”

“We’ll come back to see you, too.” Leo reaches up and runs a hand through Cisco-X’s short hair. “Don’t think you’ve seen the last of us.”

“I know,” he agrees. Then he reaches out to twine his fingers with Cisco’s. “I can raid your closet before going home?”

“Course you can, dude. What’s mine is yours, literally.” Cisco pauses to deliver a flat stare and a warning to Barry’s three partners. “You hurt him, I hurt you. Would have in the apartment, too, but, y’know. With this opportunity to say it, and all.”

“Noted,” Len drawls, with the kind of grin that means he’s being deliberately provocative. Barry pouts at him. He trusts Len not to hurt him. That doesn’t mean he’s exempt from taking Cisco seriously, even with such a cliched threat. 

Grumbling, Cisco leads the way into a new breach. Barry waves goodbye, even though he knows they won’t see it. 

After the Ciscos are gone, Barry can no longer contain his curiosity. “So what’s in the bag?”

Leo seems to have been waiting for this question. He hops to his feet, runs to the bag, and pulls out four stuffed animals. “One for each of us!” he explains. “They’re to mark our spots on the bed. That way if we decide to change up the sleeping arrangement, we can let each other know ahead of time.”

Barry squeaks. “Oh, they’re so cute!”

“This one is for you.” Leo hands him a bright red, smiling strawberry. When he takes it, it’s the perfect squish stim—cloud-light, cloud-soft. He wants to hug it forever. “A berry for our Barry.”

“Thank you,” he coos, in stim heaven already just from holding it for a few seconds. 

“And for Ray.” Leo hands him a grey owl with wide, friendly eyes and a sweet embroidered beak. “Our wise partner.” Softly, he adds, “They had a pink one too, but that felt like it might be a bit…much.”

“What, calling me gay and wise?” Ray chuckles and takes his owl. “Does it have a name?”

“That one is Jaxton, I think, but you don’t have to keep its name.” Leo pulls out the next stuffed animal, a lion with a vibrant rainbow mane. “The only one who can’t be renamed is this one, whose name is Leonard.”

“And apparently that makes it mine, despite me telling him that with the rainbows, it ought to be his.” Len takes his lion and makes a show of holding it at arm’s length. “They didn’t have anything in pan flag colors, though.”

“Besides, we both agreed I’m clearly a squid.” Leo holds up a periwinkle squid and grins. “Cuddly and all limbs.”

Barry giggles at that, stim-happy and giddy, and leans over to kiss him. “I like it!”

“And these are for marking our spots?” Ray clarifies. 

“Yeah,” Leo agrees. “That way I can decide…oh, maybe that I want to snuggle Len one night.” Playfully, he adds, “Not that you’d have driven me away! Just…there are four of us, which means many possible cuddle arrangements.”

“Well, then, should we go put them in our spots for tonight?” Barry asks hopefully. He squishes his berry again. He wants to hold it all night, even if the last thing he needs is one more thing to cuddle. 

“Why not?” Len loops his arm around Barry’s waist and guides him toward the stairs. “We’ll get to see the bedroom in its full, if only half-unpacked, glory.”

The bedroom is a bit of a mess. Suitcases and boxes line the walls, arranged in two particular spots where they hope to put a wardrobe and a bookcase. Most of the room is occupied by an enormous Alaska king bed. It’s more space than they’ve ever had before, and Barry doesn’t know what to do with it except launch himself onto it and land on his knees with a delightful bounce. The new soft blankets bunch up underneath him, and he can’t help grabbing handfuls. “This is so good!” he gasps, flopping over onto his side. “I’m in stim heaven! I’m never leaving the bedroom ever again!”

“Such a pity, given that we still have to set up the playroom,” Len drawls, sinking onto the bed at Barry’s side. He sets his rainbow-maned lion on the pillow beside Barry. “I’d hate for you to miss that because you can’t find your way out of our big new bed.”

“That can wait until tomorrow,” he says, pouting over at Leo and Ray in silent request for them to save him from Len’s teasing. 

“Indeed it can.” Ray crawls into bed and settles on Barry’s other side. “You’ve worked hard all day—all of us have—and we deserve to enjoy our lovely new bed.”

“We all ought to put our nightclothes on,” Leo suggests. He nudges Ray’s shoulder and looks him over. “Nobody will be comfortable sleeping in jeans.”

“You’re right,” Ray agrees reluctantly. He leans in and kisses the tip of Barry’s nose. “Up you get and go brush your teeth. I’d suggest a bath, but I think with all of us in the warm water, we might very well doze off.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” Barry says hopefully. He likes the thought of being able to fit in the tub with all of his partners. “After we unpack all of our stuff.”

He rolls out of bed to put his nightclothes on. Along the way, he sets his berry against his pillow where it’s supposed to be. That was a good call on Len and Leo’s part, and he’s so happy they were able to work together about it.


	3. Playroom Setup

The next day, as promised, they set up the playroom. The bed is where it should be, but it needs remade, so Len and Leo get to work on that while Barry and Ray sort through the toys. It’s not necessary—they were able to bring the toybox as it was, without much packing into boxes—but Ray wants an accurate inventory. Barry’s not going to complain, since it means all three of his Doms seeing the toys they have and maybe coming up with more scenes for the near future.

“You don’t have any wooden paddles?” Ray lays out a trio of paddles—the ‘Love’ paddle, a paddle with a simple leather side and a fuzzy sensory side, and a leather paddle where one side is studded with small, blunt metal spikes. The spikes get a bit of a hiss out of Ray, but he just sets it down and gives it a contemplative look.

“No, Len doesn’t like them, and to be honest, I don’t either.” Barry is particular about pain. He likes some types of pain when his Doms provide them, but on the whole, he can’t stand it. The leather paddles are a more tolerable form of pain, and they mostly serve to jolt him out of his head. Wooden paddles don’t achieve the same effect. 

“Good to know.” Ray keeps pulling things out of the toybox—a medium-sized flogger that once sent Barry into one of the loveliest headspaces he’s ever achieved, a smaller, more precise flogger, and a riding crop. “No canes?” he asks curiously. 

“Nope, or whips—not my kind of pain.” Barry flinches at the memory of being caned once, just as an experiment. Len had practiced for weeks before he trusted himself near Barry, and even though Barry knew he was being gentle, the pain had just been all wrong. 

Ray raises his eyebrows and says simply, “Just as well.” Before Barry can answer, he pulls out the power-dampening handcuffs. “I’m glad we have these.”

“Yeah, Len said they were a safety thing.” Barry had quite a time getting them, not because they were hard to physically acquire, but because Cisco has been twitchy about the inventory since Len stole back his own cold gun. Getting asked where the pair of missing handcuffs had gone and why was mortifying. “I don’t like giving up my speed—it feels weird and cold and achy—but I know it’s necessary and safe when we play hard. I wouldn’t want to vibrate or throw off sparks or anything.”

Behind them, a tussle arises about pillows. When Barry glances over his shoulder, he sees that this has turned literal: Leo has launched himself across the bed, pillow in hand, to thwack Len with it. He’d like to think that this is playful, but with those two, it’s hard to say. 

Ray glances over his shoulder, chuckles, and goes back to the toybox. “One of these days, the two of them are going to drive me up the wall. And they don’t seem to take correction very well.”

“Have you tried?” Barry hasn’t seen it in any of their scenes. Ray has nudged Len and Leo to interact more in-scene, with mostly positive results, but he hasn’t seen any punishment for their arguments. 

“With Leo, yes. I wouldn’t dare strike Len, even within a scene—I know enough to see where problems might lurk.” Ray pulls out two Wartenberg pinwheels, one with five wheels of spikes and one with seven. “Why two?” 

“Dunno, Len just had both.” Sheepishly, Barry adds, “We only played with one once. I liked it, it was the good kind of pain, but Len doesn’t like painplay with me. He says spankings are different because I can count, know how many more I still have to go, things like that, but with the pinwheel, he says it feels cruel. I’ve never asked to try again because we come up with so many other fun scenes.” 

Ray glances from Barry to the pinwheels to the bed. “I’ve just thought of something we could do,” he says slowly. “I think punishment for them would only have so much effect if it was their own bodies on the line.”

Barry nods. “Len prides himself on his pain tolerance. I don’t think you’d get very far with a spanking if he had his mind set on being stubborn.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Ray runs the pinwheel thoughtfully over his own palm. “But what if you were to take their punishment for them, somewhere they would have to watch?”

Barry’s eyes widen. Oh, he likes that idea. Taking punishment on his Doms’ behalf while they watch him suffer…he likes that thought very much. “Yes please, Sir.”

This is, of course, the moment Len and Leo arrive, bright-eyed and grinning as though the pillow fight went well. “Ooh, what a lovely array of implements,” Leo coos. He runs his fingers through the flogger strands. “I would delight in using this on your sweet little ass, darling boy.”

Barry shivers and makes a startled little cooing sound. “Oh, I would like that.”

“You’re so easy for us.” Ray’s eyes are twinkling. Barry makes a soft, embarrassed sound at being called ‘easy,’ even though he is. “We could list off scene after scene and you’d beg for every one.”

“It’s only because you know me so well,” he protests. “You know what works for me. I’m not this easy for everyone.”

“That I suppose is true.” Ray pulls out a ball gag, an O-ring gag, and a gag in the shape of a short silicone cock. “Oh, I remember that one. I tied you up as a present for Len.”

“And such a delightful present,” Len says teasingly. He pulls out several lengths of rope from the toybox and arranges them by length, then by thickness. “And we have plenty of supplies to do that again…or something more restrictive.” With a glance toward the ceiling, he adds, “And as this is our house now, rather than a leased apartment, we’re allowed to mess around on the ceiling to install a rigger.”

Barry whimpers excitedly. He’s always wanted to be suspended for his Doms, but they’ve never had the ability to do so (save at a kink club, which they’ve avoided because Ray doesn’t do well in crowds). “Oh yes please Sirs…”

“Spoon?” This is so random and said with such confusion that all of them erupt into laughter. Their giggles only intensify as Ray pulls out a long, sturdy, heart-shaped spoon and holds it in an exaggeratedly bewildered way. “Why do you have a love spoon?”

“Because it’s not a paddle, which gets rid of some of the…weird associations I have with wooden paddles,” Len explains. “But it gives a satisfying spank, or so I’m told.” He sneaks a grin at Barry, who blushes. 

“Yeah it does.”

Ray peers into the depths of the toybox and checks, “Do we want to leave the sexier stuff for later when it won’t work someone up? Or are we ready to break in the playroom?”

All of them look at Barry. He can’t hide a little thrill at that—these three powerful men, his Doms, looking at him for their cues. As often as they strip his power away, sometimes literally, it’s only ever at his behest. That knowledge always gets him worked up and melty. “Uh…you didn’t ever really get a look at our costumes except when we packed them,” he recalls. “We can go through those first? They might spark some ideas.”

“Ooh, yes, I like that idea,” Leo agrees hopefully.

“Very well.” Ray leads them all over to the closet and pulls out the box of costumes. He gives Barry a playful look. “Trying to give us ideas for later?”

“Try to lead my Doms to the ideas I want? I would never,” he says delightedly. (Yes. Yes he is, and they can tell. He won’t admit to it, though—yet.)


	4. Stim Room Setup

Not that day but the next, they set up the stim room. Barry spends the intervening time planning it out—a puzzle corner for Len and Leo, who have the patience for puzzles and find them calming; a table with coloring pages and crossword puzzles for Barry; a book nook with cozy chairs; blackout curtains and calming fairy lights, bright enough to read by without being overwhelming; a white noise maker; and all the soft things they can find. He hands the list to Len first. “Add to it or tell me it looks good.”

“This is for the stim room?” Len looks it over. He smiles at the list and wraps his arm around Barry. Oh, good, he must like it. Barry rocks idly at the thought. “Are you going to put your stim toys in there?”

“Like my stimmy slime and stuff? Yeah, and the ear defenders, but all that I’ve already got. This is just the stuff we’ll need to find.” 

“I have puzzles.” Len looks up, smiling impishly. “I just knew you’d hyperfocus on them and then get annoyed that they’re hard for you, so I’ve never gotten them out.”

Barry makes a little happy noise. His thoughtful Len, giving him peace of mind from something that would otherwise torment him for days. It’s one thing to assemble pieces of shattered glass into a whole at superspeed. But a puzzle with colors and other things to draw his attention away from just the shapes? No, he can’t do it, not without extreme frustration. 

“Puzzles?” Leo pops over instantly and peers over Len’s shoulder at the list. “Oh, this is for our stim room! What are fairy lights?”

Barry gapes at him. He should have known Leo wouldn’t know what fairy lights are. “Oh, you’re in for such a treat,” he coos. “I’ll have Ray take you out while I hang them, that way you can come in and see them lit and be _so amazed_ by the way they look.”

Leo makes a delighted sound. “I’d love that!”

“Why am I on partner control again?” Ray wanders over, tiny specks of wood and paint all over his front. He’s been clattering around in the playroom for awhile—Barry can only guess what he’s doing. When he sees the list, he grins. “Oh, for setting up the stim room?”

“We’ll have to go shopping first.” Barry crosses off ‘puzzles’ from the list. “I kinda want to go back to that cute little bookshop we visited during the parade, just to see if they have any coloring books.”

“You already got the kinky calendar, now you want a kinky coloring book?” Leo teases.

Barry refuses to blush, although Leo seems to want him to. “Yes, plus a less-kinky one for when we’re not in that kind of mood. They make swearword coloring books that would probably be very calming.”

Len chuckles and drawls in an exaggeratedly playful voice, “Trying to get in trouble about that dirty little mouth of yours?”

Barry refuses to rise to the bait. Maybe soon, but for now, he really does want to shop.

They go to the bookshop first for the coloring and activity books and a handful of paperbacks for the reading corner. The woman at the register compliments them on their purchases, just as she had last time, and coaxes Barry into buying a little handmade bi-flag dragon pendant. “Supporting a local artist,” she says with a grin, showing off her lesbian-flag dragon. “And they have such personality, look at them!”

From there, they head to the nearest department store for blackout curtains, fairy lights, and an inexpensive white noise machine. They also pick up a dedicated pair of headphones that will stay in the stim room if people want to listen to music, though Barry, at least will store his own earbuds there, too. He doesn’t like the weight of headphones or the bulky feeling, and he suspects the others feel the same. At the same store, they pick up an assortment of pillows, including a reversible sequined one with which to stim, and two soft blankets. Then, as they’re walking to the checkout, Barry sees the weighted blankets. 

“Oh, we have to get one!” He bounces over to the weighted blankets and looks them over. They should aim for about a fifteen-pound one, he figures—anything heavier might feel too constricting, while anything lighter wouldn’t give him the pressure stim he craves. 

“What are they?” Leo stares in bewilderment at the blankets. Even Ray looks mildly confused. Barry wonders if they only got popular after he left for Earth-X. 

“They’re like normal blankets, but heavier for pressure stim.” Barry picks one up and lets out a little giggle. “Well, they’re _lots_ heavier when they’re all rolled up, but even spread out, they’re nice. I think probably the fifteen-pound one?”

“That sounds about right,” Len agrees. He wraps his arms around Barry from behind and rocks with him. “You’re gonna be so spoiled and stim-happy, Scarlet. That’s what that room will do for me, is to just see you enjoying all the stimmy stuff.”

Barry makes little happy noises and grabs the handles of the rolled-up weighted blanket. “Let’s go check out! I want to get all this stuff home and set it up—including the pretty fairy lights like I promised you, Leo.”

When they arrive home, Barry gets to work stringing the fairy lights while Len hangs the blackout curtains. They send Ray and Leo to look through the boxes in the bedroom for the ear defenders and stim toys. With no idea how long it will take them, Barry hangs the lights at superspeed, then goes through and sets up the reading corner at the same pace. 

“We found the— _oh_.” 

Barry turns around in time to see Leo set the stim toys on the coloring table. His eyes are locked on the fairy lights overhead, which fill the room with a soft golden glow. 

“Oh,” he coos, pressing into Ray’s arms. “Oh, they remind me of you.”

Without saying a word, Ray starts to glow softly. It’s not the brilliant, piercing brightness that had lit up the sky when Leo first freed him; it’s just a mild, pleasant glow. Barry can feel the heat of it, but that too is mild, like the sun on a hazy day. Together, his glow and the fairy lights make the room nearly daytime-bright. 

“Everything looks so lovely.” Leo glances around the room. Len has hung the blackout curtains and set up the puzzle corner; Barry has hung the lights, set up the coloring station, and furnished the reading corner with a single armchair and a side table on which rests their small stack of books. He wants to add to it—a bookshelf first, then more chairs. “Where’s the weighted blanket?”

“Oh, you want to try it?” Barry pulls it out from its spot beside the armchair. It’s still rolled up in its store packaging; it’s easier to carry that way. He shears the packaging apart at superspeed and lets the blanket unfurl. “See?”

Leo picks up the edge of the blanket and hums at the weight. Then, cautiously, he drapes it over his shoulders. His eyes light up. “It’s like being hugged!”

Barry nods enthusiastically. “That’s the idea! Isn’t it cozy?”

“Oh, I love it so much!” Leo rocks and cuddles the blanket tightly around his shoulders. “It’s so comfortable. It would be just perfect for getting the hug sensation without…” He trails off, looking guilty.

“People?” Len drawls. His tone softens somewhat and he admits, “I think all of us know that feeling. It’s all right to say it.”

Shyly, Leo nods. “I love all of you…but sometimes I need to be alone. And this way I can still have pressure without the stress of a hug.” He retreats into the blanket. Ray gathers him close and rocks with him. 

“That’s why we have this room. There’s no shame in it.”

Barry bounces gently in place. “Is everyone happy with the room for now? I’ll keep an eye out for more nice chairs and a bookcase for the reading corner, but for now I think the little table will work.”

“It’s perfect, Scarlet,” Len assures him. He casts a contemplative glance around the room before adding, “And it’s _ours_.”


End file.
